Cementing v. not cementing the Monk endoprosthesis

In a retrospective study, 45 patients who had Monk hard-top endoprostheses inserted with cement because of fresh intracapsular fracture of the femoral neck, were compared with 61 patients with uncemented prostheses. The average age, age-distribution and the preoperative condition of the patients were well matched in the two groups. Thirty cemented and 39 uncemented cases were reviewed. The average time to follow-up was 29.9 months in the cemented group and 18.7 months in the uncemented group. A significantly lower mobility score and social performance score was found in the uncemented group when compared with the cemented one. No significant difference in the complaint of pain or in the range of movement of the hips was found between the two groups. On X-ray examination, no increased wear of the acetabular cartilage in the cemented group was found, but an increased tendency to loosening of the prosthesis was found in the uncemented group. In agreement with other studies it is concluded that the advantages to the patient with an intracapsular fracture of the femoral neck of having a cemented prosthesis outweigh the disadvantages.